Showing posts with label Tips and Tricks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips and Tricks. Show all posts

Effective Ways to increase traffic blog visitors




SEO tips. Various ways increase blog visitors are sometimes done by bloggers to develop a blog, are generally divided into two kinds:
1. how easy (use seo service pay),
2. how to work hard but sometimes easy and difficult (do search engine optimization, blog promotion manually), blog visitors come from search engines
3. way of blog promotion without seo techniques (visitors not originate from search engines but sourced from the site referenced)

In this post we only discuss points 2 and 3, because sometimes the support point 2 point 3. To point 1 is suitable for bloggers who are deep pockets (have a lot of money to pay for seo services).

There are several steps that must be considered in conducting search engine optimization to increase visitors to the blog (this post is a general overview)


1. Observe existing blog diurutan 1 to 5 on the search engines with specific keywords, see the keywords used in the post title, content / content of posts or tags (label if blogspot). Example or imitate a character blog. I mean look at the advantages of these blogs and apply on your blog. (Do not copy and paste its news because it will cause your blog will be hard to ride because google pageranknya applying filtering techniques, try typing it yourself, or quotes from several sources and then develop themselves according to ability)

2. Submit blog to search engines (google, yahoo, bing), verify in google webmaster tools, yahoo site explorer, bing webmasters center for search engine spiders more easily browse the blog.

3. Creating a meta tag content, meta tag description, select the template that light so that visitors do not saturate when opening a blog.

4. Select the themes that are hot and many people looking to be a post, try to keep your writing style is concerned, or insert relevant keywords that share with the one post with another post, it is intended to inform the search engine spiders that these postings have relevance.

5. Create a post in the form of tutorials, post tutorials visitors usually not too much but if it makes a lot of tutorials the chance to bring in a lot of visitors (traffic accumulation), diligent reply to comments visitors if there is time, because the comments will be supporting the completeness of the post and also could help resolve the problem of visitors. Blog posts should be adapted to your hobbies and passions, so it will terasamengembangkan hobby and over time will enjoy blogging.

6. Postings are made whenever possible informative include images, videos (video link) if possible. Postings do not always have to post a quality, basic post-even have a place to compete in search engines, you simply set your blog aimed at the beginner, intermediate, or advanced (professional). each had a visitor segment, depending on your desired visitor segment.

7. Posting updates regularly. The more often updated more delighted visitors to the blog, and the happier the search engine spiders visit blogs and more likely to receive the effects of improving our blog pagerank. And the easier the optimization posts and compete in the Google SERP or other search engines.

8. Keyword optimization for blogs that are still young to the age of about 3-6 months, preferably with long tail keywords (words consisting of several phrases), if it has been a lot of long tail keywords that occupies the first page of Google SERP start by creating a new post that target short keyword . persingan fight top 10 SERP is more stringent because every blogger has a different optimization techniques along with the development of different search engines.

9. Try to get backlinks from other blogs, good backlinks to the homepage (main page) or to post pages. The process to get backlinks and bring traffic through search engines without there are many ways, such as:
a. exchange links with other blogs,
b. create a dummy blog (blog secondary) to support the main blog
c. make comments on other blogs,
d. submit to social networking sites (facebook, myspace, twitter, etc.).
e. submit to social bookmarking (traffic news, infogue, etc.)
f. active on the site / forum (yahoo answer, mailing lists, kaskus, etc.)
g. promotional video on youtube, etc.
h. promotions via email
i. Promotional blogs offline, to teman2 through flyers, free mass media, etc.

10. If you have enough capital, not ever invent a kind of seo contest or race the opportunity to get traffic and backlinks getting bigger.

11. Avoid doing blog optimization techniques banned by google that blogs do not get penalties google or other search engines.

12. To eleven tips above is just a business, the result of tergatung on your ability to perform optimization, seriousness, mental toughness (give up) do not easily falls into despair, and pray to Allah SWT.

sumber

Cara Menambahkan Tombol Like Facebook di Blog

Pada postingan kali ini kita akan share pengalaman saya hari ini. Yaitu tentang Cara Menambahkan Tombol Like Facebook di Blog. Udah dari tadi malam aku utak-atik, perasaan kodenya udah bener, tapi kok gak jadi-jadi. Di save template bisa, tapi kok tidak muncul. Mungkin karena Template kali ? Tapi itu cuma pikirku. Akhirnya dari pagi sampai jam 12 siang aku otak-atik lagi, aku ganti-ganti template blogku, terus aku pasang kode html untuk memunculkan button Like Facebook agar mempermudah pembaca yang ingin share lewat wall facebooknya. 

Akhirnya jadi juga setelah Template aku ganti 2 atau tiga kali tadi. Namanya juga coba-coba. Sehingga mungkin kalau anda sering berkunjung ke blog ini mungkin tampilannya ga seperti kemarin, ya iyalah tadi emang aku ganti. Coba yang simple aja, biar loadingnya ga terlalu berat. Sebenarnya sih gonta-ganti template tidak dianjurkan, katak para master SEO, kayak rokok aja, gonta-ganti. Kalu bisa seperti isteri, 1 untuk selamanya. Tapi bagaimana lagi, ni kebelet pengen pasang Tombol Like kok ga jadi-jadi, ya udah terpaksa diganti deh templatenya. 

Nah bagi anda yang pengin tahu Cara Menambahkan Tombol Like Facebook di Blog, silahkan ikuti langkah- langkah dibawah ini:

1. Buka Blogger. Masuk ke menu Design -> Edit HTML

2. Beri centang pada "Expand Widget Templates"

3. Cari kode <data:post.body/>

4. Jika anda menemukan dua kode <data:post.body/> maka pilih yang pertama

5. Letakkan kode berikut ini dibawah <data:post.body/> jika anda ingin memasang tombol like dibawah posting atau letakkan diatas <data:post.body/> jika anda ingin memasang tombol like diatas posting

<iframe allowTransparency='true' expr:src='&quot;http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=&quot; + data:post.url + &quot;&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=100&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&quot;' frameborder='0' height='30' scrolling='no' style='border:none; overflow:hidden; '/>


6. Lalu Save template anda.

Hasilnya akan seperti ini anda lihat pada blog ini. Lihat dibawah judul postingan, boleh kok dicoba gratis, wkwkk. Kode tersebut udah teruji, jadi kalau anda tak berhasil segeralah ganti template blog anda, kalau gak mau ganti ya diotak-atik sampai kepala terasa berat, dan mata sulit di buka, wkwkwk

Cara Mendapatkan Backlink Gratis dan Web Directory, Fast Approve

Bagaimanapun juga nama traffic bagi sebuah blog menjadi sangat penting tatkala tujuan dari ngeblog sudah beralih ke tujuan komersial. Tidak ada gunanya content bagus tatkala tidak ada pengunjung, karena sebagus apapun tulisan kita kalau tak ada yang baca berarti ya ibarat buku baru yang dibeli di toko buku trus di simpan di almari. Nah salah satu untuk mendatangkan traffik adalah dengan rajin submit ke web directory. Kalau mau instan beli aja backling. Kalau mau dikit demi sedikit tapi ibaratnya dengan langkah pasti, dan ini tampaknya yang lebih disukai simbah Google adalah dengan submit ke web directory. Di bawah ini ada beberapa list web directory gratis, caranya copy satu persatu ke address bar browser anda. Lalu langkah berikutnya anda tinggal submit url blog anda, dan lupakan, begitu seterusnya dan bulan depan anda akan melihat hasilnya >>>

http://www.linkshere.com.ar
http://www.newconceptdir.com.ar
http://www.linksheaven.com.ar
http://www.prdirectory.com.ar
http://www.freebacklink.com.ar
http://www.powerdirectory.com.ar
http://www.directorymaster.com.ar
http://www.monsterbacklink.com.ar
http://www.websitelist.com.ar
http://www.24directory.com.ar
http://www.thedirectory.com.ar
http://www.freecasinodirectory.info
http://www.zendirectory.com.ar
http://www.foreverlinks.info
http://www.seosubmissiondirectory.info
http://www.powerfulldirectory.info
http://www.welcomelinks.info
http://www.directorync.com.ar
http://www.beastdirectory.info
http://www.speedydirectory.info
http://www.addsitenow.info
http://www.subseo.info
http://www.sundirectory.info

Bagaimana ? Coba dulu semoga sukses

How to Make Related Post on Your Blog ?

How to Make Related Post on Your Blog ? It's verry simply. Let's follow these steps below :

First :

1. Log in --> Click Layouts --> Click edit html and find the code below </head>

2. Copy this code below and put above this code kode </head>

<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
var relatedTitles = new Array();
var relatedTitlesNum = 0;
var relatedUrls = new Array();
function related_results_labels(json) {
for (var i = 0; i < json.feed.entry.length; i++) {
var entry = json.feed.entry[i];
relatedTitles[relatedTitlesNum] = entry.title.$t;
for (var k = 0; k < entry.link.length; k++) {
if (entry.link[k].rel == 'alternate') {
relatedUrls[relatedTitlesNum] = entry.link[k].href;
relatedTitlesNum++;
break;
}
}
}
}
function removeRelatedDuplicates() {
var tmp = new Array(0);
var tmp2 = new Array(0);
for(var i = 0; i < relatedUrls.length; i++) {
if(!contains(tmp, relatedUrls[i])) {
tmp.length += 1;
tmp[tmp.length - 1] = relatedUrls[i];
tmp2.length += 1;
tmp2[tmp2.length - 1] = relatedTitles[i];
}
}
relatedTitles = tmp2;
relatedUrls = tmp;
}
function contains(a, e) {
for(var j = 0; j < a.length; j++) if (a[j]==e) return true;
return false;
}
function printRelatedLabels() {
var r = Math.floor((relatedTitles.length - 1) * Math.random());
var i = 0;
document.write('<ul>');
while (i < relatedTitles.length && i < 20) {
document.write('<li><a href="' + relatedUrls[r] + '">' + relatedTitles[r] + '</a></li>');
if (r < relatedTitles.length - 1) {
r++;
} else {
r = 0;
}
i++;
}
document.write('</ul>');
}
//]]>
</script>


3. Save Template

The Second

1. Klik Edit HTML again and give a choose on Expand Widget Template.

2. Find the code below :

<b:if cond='data:post.labels'>
<data:postLabelsLabel/>
<b:loop values='data:post.labels' var='label'>
<a expr:href='data:label.url' rel='tag'><data:label.name/></a><b:if cond='data:label.isLast != "true"'>,</b:if>
</b:loop>
</b:if>


3. input the red code between this code above, see this one :


<b:if cond='data:post.labels'>
<data:postLabelsLabel/>
<b:loop values='data:post.labels' var='label'>
<a expr:href='data:label.url' rel='tag'><data:label.name/></a><b:if cond='data:label.isLast != "true"'>,</b:if>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<script expr:src='"/feeds/posts/default/-/" + data:label.name + "?alt=json-in-script&amp;callback=related_results_labels&amp;max-results=10"' type='text/javascript'/>
</b:if>
</b:loop>
</b:if>


4. Save Template

Thirth :

1. On dashboard menu --> Click Layouts --> Add A Gadget and choose HTML/Javascript

2. Copy this code below and input on widget


<script type="text/javascript">
removeRelatedDuplicates();
printRelatedLabels();
</script>


3. Give a title such as Related Post or anonther title
4. Save

Fourth


1. Find this code and focus on Related Post writing :


<b:widget id='HTML13' locked='false' title='related post' type='HTML'>
<b:includable id='main'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<!-- only display title if it's non-empty -->
<b:if cond='data:title != ""'>
<h2 class='title'><data:title/></h2>
</b:if>
<div class='widget-content'>
<data:content/>
</div>

<b:include name='quickedit'/>
</b:if>
</b:includable>
</b:widget>



2. The red code is code that must be added.

How to Make Your Windows XP Run Faster

How to make Windows XP run Faster ? There are tips to do it. You can try this method to make your Windows XP run Faster. No one like if their Windows XP run Slower, its make me be boring. Read the tips below, and try it to make your Windows XP run Faster :

Apply Windows Updates

If you run Windows and you use the Internet, you simply MUST stay up to date with the system patches that come out in response to the privacy and security exploits that are discovered every week. Failure to do so is an open invitation to hackers and crackers to invade your privacy and enslave your computer in a spam spewing network. To get the latest fixes and configure your system for automatic updates, open Internet Explorer, click on Tools, then Windows Update.

Clean out Viruses and Malware

Are you running a good anti-virus program, with automatic updates? Have you scanned your system for spyware, adware and other unwanted pests? If not, see my article about the best free anti-virus and anti-spyware programs for details on how to protect yourself from those risks. Viruses and malware can slow down your system a LOT, because they use your resources to generate popup ads, send spam, and often interfere with the operation of good programs.

Remove Unnecessary Software

You may have a bunch of software packages on your hard drive that are no longer needed, or they were gratuitously installed when you downloaded some other package. Toolbars, file-sharing programs, free email enhancers, online shopping "companions" and download managers are notorious for this practice. These uninvited guests can put a big drag on your startup time, cause web pages to load slowly, and generally bog down your computer. Go to Control Panel, then Add/Remove Software to see what packages are installed. Remove the ones you know you don't need, and do a web search to learn about the ones you're not sure about.

Scrub That Hard Disk

Both Windows and application programs tend to leave temporary files lying around on your hard drive, taking up space needlessly. A hard drive that is close to being full can cause Windows to act strangely, and will slow down or interfere with efficient disk access and virtual memory operations. And if you surf the web a lot, your temporary internet files folder can become quite large, causing Internet Explorer to slow down or malfunction. Cleaning up unneeded files, scanning for disk errors and defragmenting the hard drive can help to restore some zip to your system. First, open My Computer, right-click on the C: Drive icon, select Properties, then click on Disk Cleanup. (Optional: Select the More Options tab to find and remove even more unwanted files.) To run a defrag, open My Computer, right-click on the C: Drive icon, select Properties, then Tools. Click the Check Now button to scan your disk for errors. When the scan is complete, click the Defragment Now button to run the defrag, which reorganizes your hard disk so Windows can find and access files more efficiently. (It's highly recommended that you close all running programs and disable your screen saver before running a defrag. Otherwise, updates to your files may trigger defrag to restart endlessly.)

Now Take a Breath...

We're more than half-way done with the process of cleaning the junk out of your computer. The rest of the steps may seem a little more geeky, and you can skip any or all of them if you don't feel comfortable digging a little deeper into the workings of the Windows operating system. But there is definitely bang for the buck here. Some of peskiest Windows performance problems can be solved by giving attention to these areas.

Slim Your Startup Selections

There are certain programs that Windows will start every time you boot up your system, and during the startup phase, they're all jockeying for a slice of your CPU. Extra or unwanted items in the startup list will defintely increase your startup time, perhaps by several minutes. To manage the list of startup programs, click on Start / Run, then type MSCONFIG. Press Enter, then select the Startup tab. If you see items in the list you know you don't need to run at startup time, UNcheck the box(es) next to them and press Apply. Some common examples are things related to AOL, RealPlayer, Napster, instant messengers, and video managers. If you're not sure about an item, no big deal. You can turn it off, restart your PC, and see if everything seems to work. If not, you can always go back and re-enable an item in the Startup list. This helpful list or this page may help you decide what to keep or drop.

Clean Your Registry

The Windows Registry is a database that enables the operating system to track the relationships between hardware and software. Unfortunately, problems with the registry can make Windows run slower. Sometimes an "orphaned" registry entry can confuse Windows during startup and cause a delay. And in general, slimming down your registry will make Windows run faster. There are several utility programs that will clean your system registry of unnecessary and erroneous entries.

Read more about the Windows registry, and find some free programs you can use to correct registry problems in my article Do I Need a Registry Cleaner?

RAM and Virtual Memory Settings

When you run out of physical (RAM) memory, Windows will use a check of your hard disk to create virtual memory. This is a nice feature, because it allows application programs to access huge amounts of memory. The only problem with virtual memory is that it's a lot slower than real RAM. So installing extra RAM on the system board is a good idea because it's pretty cheap and easy to pop in. Find out how much your system will accommodate and install the maximum amount. Extra RAM will probably do more to boost your overall system performance than anything else! But getting back to Virtual Memory, it's wise to let Windows manage the amount, unless you are a Wizard, with a capital W. Go to Control Panel / System / Advanced, then press the Settings button under Performance. Click Advanced again, then press the Change button under Virtual Memory. If System managed size is selected, you're all set. If you want to fiddle with the Custom Size options, be my guest!

Turn Off Extraneous System Services

We're heading into uber-geek territory here, so be forewarned. Windows doesn't know exactly how you're going to use your computer, so it starts a whole bunch of system services that manage network connections, database access, error reporting, remote access and other nerdy-sounding things. You may not need all these services, and disabling some of them can reduce your startup time and system overhead. But choosing which ones to nuke is a bit daunting, unless you are an expert on Windows operating system internals. Here's my advice... look at these explanations and advice then disable only the ones that you're sure about. If you encounter a problem, you can always go back and turn a service back on. (Reff: Ask Bob Rankin)

How to Make Your Windows XP Run Faster

How to make Windows XP run Faster ? There are tips to do it. You can try this method to make your Windows XP run Faster. No one like if their Windows XP run Slower, its make me be boring. Read the tips below, and try it to make your Windows XP run Faster :

Apply Windows Updates

If you run Windows and you use the Internet, you simply MUST stay up to date with the system patches that come out in response to the privacy and security exploits that are discovered every week. Failure to do so is an open invitation to hackers and crackers to invade your privacy and enslave your computer in a spam spewing network. To get the latest fixes and configure your system for automatic updates, open Internet Explorer, click on Tools, then Windows Update.

Clean out Viruses and Malware

Are you running a good anti-virus program, with automatic updates? Have you scanned your system for spyware, adware and other unwanted pests? If not, see my article about the best free anti-virus and anti-spyware programs for details on how to protect yourself from those risks. Viruses and malware can slow down your system a LOT, because they use your resources to generate popup ads, send spam, and often interfere with the operation of good programs.

Remove Unnecessary Software

You may have a bunch of software packages on your hard drive that are no longer needed, or they were gratuitously installed when you downloaded some other package. Toolbars, file-sharing programs, free email enhancers, online shopping "companions" and download managers are notorious for this practice. These uninvited guests can put a big drag on your startup time, cause web pages to load slowly, and generally bog down your computer. Go to Control Panel, then Add/Remove Software to see what packages are installed. Remove the ones you know you don't need, and do a web search to learn about the ones you're not sure about.

Scrub That Hard Disk

Both Windows and application programs tend to leave temporary files lying around on your hard drive, taking up space needlessly. A hard drive that is close to being full can cause Windows to act strangely, and will slow down or interfere with efficient disk access and virtual memory operations. And if you surf the web a lot, your temporary internet files folder can become quite large, causing Internet Explorer to slow down or malfunction. Cleaning up unneeded files, scanning for disk errors and defragmenting the hard drive can help to restore some zip to your system. First, open My Computer, right-click on the C: Drive icon, select Properties, then click on Disk Cleanup. (Optional: Select the More Options tab to find and remove even more unwanted files.) To run a defrag, open My Computer, right-click on the C: Drive icon, select Properties, then Tools. Click the Check Now button to scan your disk for errors. When the scan is complete, click the Defragment Now button to run the defrag, which reorganizes your hard disk so Windows can find and access files more efficiently. (It's highly recommended that you close all running programs and disable your screen saver before running a defrag. Otherwise, updates to your files may trigger defrag to restart endlessly.)

Now Take a Breath...

We're more than half-way done with the process of cleaning the junk out of your computer. The rest of the steps may seem a little more geeky, and you can skip any or all of them if you don't feel comfortable digging a little deeper into the workings of the Windows operating system. But there is definitely bang for the buck here. Some of peskiest Windows performance problems can be solved by giving attention to these areas.

Slim Your Startup Selections

There are certain programs that Windows will start every time you boot up your system, and during the startup phase, they're all jockeying for a slice of your CPU. Extra or unwanted items in the startup list will defintely increase your startup time, perhaps by several minutes. To manage the list of startup programs, click on Start / Run, then type MSCONFIG. Press Enter, then select the Startup tab. If you see items in the list you know you don't need to run at startup time, UNcheck the box(es) next to them and press Apply. Some common examples are things related to AOL, RealPlayer, Napster, instant messengers, and video managers. If you're not sure about an item, no big deal. You can turn it off, restart your PC, and see if everything seems to work. If not, you can always go back and re-enable an item in the Startup list. This helpful list or this page may help you decide what to keep or drop.

Clean Your Registry

The Windows Registry is a database that enables the operating system to track the relationships between hardware and software. Unfortunately, problems with the registry can make Windows run slower. Sometimes an "orphaned" registry entry can confuse Windows during startup and cause a delay. And in general, slimming down your registry will make Windows run faster. There are several utility programs that will clean your system registry of unnecessary and erroneous entries.

Read more about the Windows registry, and find some free programs you can use to correct registry problems in my article Do I Need a Registry Cleaner?

RAM and Virtual Memory Settings

When you run out of physical (RAM) memory, Windows will use a check of your hard disk to create virtual memory. This is a nice feature, because it allows application programs to access huge amounts of memory. The only problem with virtual memory is that it's a lot slower than real RAM. So installing extra RAM on the system board is a good idea because it's pretty cheap and easy to pop in. Find out how much your system will accommodate and install the maximum amount. Extra RAM will probably do more to boost your overall system performance than anything else! But getting back to Virtual Memory, it's wise to let Windows manage the amount, unless you are a Wizard, with a capital W. Go to Control Panel / System / Advanced, then press the Settings button under Performance. Click Advanced again, then press the Change button under Virtual Memory. If System managed size is selected, you're all set. If you want to fiddle with the Custom Size options, be my guest!

Turn Off Extraneous System Services

We're heading into uber-geek territory here, so be forewarned. Windows doesn't know exactly how you're going to use your computer, so it starts a whole bunch of system services that manage network connections, database access, error reporting, remote access and other nerdy-sounding things. You may not need all these services, and disabling some of them can reduce your startup time and system overhead. But choosing which ones to nuke is a bit daunting, unless you are an expert on Windows operating system internals. Here's my advice... look at these explanations and advice then disable only the ones that you're sure about. If you encounter a problem, you can always go back and turn a service back on. (Reff: Ask Bob Rankin)

How to make Windows XP run Faster ? There are tips to do it. You can try this method to make your Windows XP run Faster. No one like if their Windows XP run Slower, its make me be boring. Read the tips below, and try it to make your Windows XP run Faster :

Apply Windows Updates

If you run Windows and you use the Internet, you simply MUST stay up to date with the system patches that come out in response to the privacy and security exploits that are discovered every week. Failure to do so is an open invitation to hackers and crackers to invade your privacy and enslave your computer in a spam spewing network. To get the latest fixes and configure your system for automatic updates, open Internet Explorer, click on Tools, then Windows Update.

Clean out Viruses and Malware

Are you running a good anti-virus program, with automatic updates? Have you scanned your system for spyware, adware and other unwanted pests? If not, see my article about the best free anti-virus and anti-spyware programs for details on how to protect yourself from those risks. Viruses and malware can slow down your system a LOT, because they use your resources to generate popup ads, send spam, and often interfere with the operation of good programs.

Remove Unnecessary Software

You may have a bunch of software packages on your hard drive that are no longer needed, or they were gratuitously installed when you downloaded some other package. Toolbars, file-sharing programs, free email enhancers, online shopping "companions" and download managers are notorious for this practice. These uninvited guests can put a big drag on your startup time, cause web pages to load slowly, and generally bog down your computer. Go to Control Panel, then Add/Remove Software to see what packages are installed. Remove the ones you know you don't need, and do a web search to learn about the ones you're not sure about.

Scrub That Hard Disk

Both Windows and application programs tend to leave temporary files lying around on your hard drive, taking up space needlessly. A hard drive that is close to being full can cause Windows to act strangely, and will slow down or interfere with efficient disk access and virtual memory operations. And if you surf the web a lot, your temporary internet files folder can become quite large, causing Internet Explorer to slow down or malfunction. Cleaning up unneeded files, scanning for disk errors and defragmenting the hard drive can help to restore some zip to your system. First, open My Computer, right-click on the C: Drive icon, select Properties, then click on Disk Cleanup. (Optional: Select the More Options tab to find and remove even more unwanted files.) To run a defrag, open My Computer, right-click on the C: Drive icon, select Properties, then Tools. Click the Check Now button to scan your disk for errors. When the scan is complete, click the Defragment Now button to run the defrag, which reorganizes your hard disk so Windows can find and access files more efficiently. (It's highly recommended that you close all running programs and disable your screen saver before running a defrag. Otherwise, updates to your files may trigger defrag to restart endlessly.)

Now Take a Breath...

We're more than half-way done with the process of cleaning the junk out of your computer. The rest of the steps may seem a little more geeky, and you can skip any or all of them if you don't feel comfortable digging a little deeper into the workings of the Windows operating system. But there is definitely bang for the buck here. Some of peskiest Windows performance problems can be solved by giving attention to these areas.

Slim Your Startup Selections


There are certain programs that Windows will start every time you boot up your system, and during the startup phase, they're all jockeying for a slice of your CPU. Extra or unwanted items in the startup list will defintely increase your startup time, perhaps by several minutes. To manage the list of startup programs, click on Start / Run, then type MSCONFIG. Press Enter, then select the Startup tab. If you see items in the list you know you don't need to run at startup time, UNcheck the box(es) next to them and press Apply. Some common examples are things related to AOL, RealPlayer, Napster, instant messengers, and video managers. If you're not sure about an item, no big deal. You can turn it off, restart your PC, and see if everything seems to work. If not, you can always go back and re-enable an item in the Startup list. This helpful list or this page may help you decide what to keep or drop.

Clean Your Registry


The Windows Registry is a database that enables the operating system to track the relationships between hardware and software. Unfortunately, problems with the registry can make Windows run slower. Sometimes an "orphaned" registry entry can confuse Windows during startup and cause a delay. And in general, slimming down your registry will make Windows run faster. There are several utility programs that will clean your system registry of unnecessary and erroneous entries.


Read more about the Windows registry, and find some free programs you can use to correct registry problems in my article Do I Need a Registry Cleaner?

RAM and Virtual Memory Settings


When you run out of physical (RAM) memory, Windows will use a check of your hard disk to create virtual memory. This is a nice feature, because it allows application programs to access huge amounts of memory. The only problem with virtual memory is that it's a lot slower than real RAM. So installing extra RAM on the system board is a good idea because it's pretty cheap and easy to pop in. Find out how much your system will accommodate and install the maximum amount. Extra RAM will probably do more to boost your overall system performance than anything else! But getting back to Virtual Memory, it's wise to let Windows manage the amount, unless you are a Wizard, with a capital W. Go to Control Panel / System / Advanced, then press the Settings button under Performance. Click Advanced again, then press the Change button under Virtual Memory. If System managed size is selected, you're all set. If you want to fiddle with the Custom Size options, be my guest!

Turn Off Extraneous System Services


We're heading into uber-geek territory here, so be forewarned. Windows doesn't know exactly how you're going to use your computer, so it starts a whole bunch of system services that manage network connections, database access, error reporting, remote access and other nerdy-sounding things. You may not need all these services, and disabling some of them can reduce your startup time and system overhead. But choosing which ones to nuke is a bit daunting, unless you are an expert on Windows operating system internals. Here's my advice... look at these explanations and advice then disable only the ones that you're sure about. If you encounter a problem, you can always go back and turn a service back on. (Reff: Ask Bob Rankin)